Exercise equipment has been designed for developing and maintaining physical fitness through a variety of exercises. Such equipment includes weight lifting machines, rowing machines, stair climbing machines, treadmills, and the like. Such machines, and most exercise regimens, are designed to improve the cardiovascular condition of the persons undertaking the exercise, and to provide muscle building and muscle toning. Fitness centers and home exercise equipment for accomplishing these purposes are in widespread use.
Although muscle building and muscle conditioning are important in developing and maintaining physical fitness, another part of the physical fitness story is developing body flexibility. Simply stated, a flexible body works better. Good posture, decreased stress, relief of muscular and joint pain, substantially improved physical and athletic ability and an enhanced sense of well being all come with improved flexibility. On the other hand, inflexibility, particularly in the lower back and hamstrings, causes low back and hamstring pain and injury.
A large percentage of the adult population in the United States suffers from lower back pain; and improving back flexibility can reduce or eliminate this type of pain. Although the benefits of such flexibility are important and obvious, achieving such flexibility has not been a simple task.
Inactivity and certain exercises, such as bicycle riding and running, cause the hamstring muscles to contract or shorten. Contracting the hamstring muscles then causes the pelvis to become unstable. This in turn tends to throw the spine out of alignment, constricting and pinching nerves, including the sciatica, which can cause moderate to severe pain from the lower back through the upper leg. It has been found that stretching before and after exercise reduces or eliminates the risk of injury from fitness workouts or athletic performance.
To properly stretch, the targeted muscles must be in a relaxed or passive state. Solo stretching the hamstring and other muscle groups creates an inherent conflict of self-generated stretching force interfering with the passive state muscles. While dynamic or ballistic stretching is an option, it is less effective, and it invites injury. Partner or training-assisted stretching also presents problems. Most obviously, another person is required each time the stretching exercise sequence is undertaken. Beyond this, however, it is difficult, even with a trainer, to produce consistent stretching tension.
A device for stretching the back and hamstring muscles of a user without requiring a partner or trainer is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. to Reed No. 5,108,090. This patent is directed to a power stretching device where the user is seated with legs extended. A leg immobilizing unit is provided; and an adjustable extension portion is attached pivotally to a reciprocating telescoping unit. The telescoping unit has hand grips at its upper end for engagement with the hands of the person using the device. A motor controls the reciprocating movement of the telescoping unit to cause it to move toward and away from the person using the device. Consequently, as the handgrips move away from the user toward the pivot, the user is pulled forward into a bending position to effect the desired stretching of the back and leg muscles. Although the device of the Reed Pat. No. 5,108,090 is effective for providing back stretching exercise, the mechanical parts are somewhat complex; and the overall device is relatively large.
Another approach for effecting the stretching of back and hamstring muscles is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. to Reed No. 6,210,348. The device of this patent is directed to an exercise device having a handle member designed to be grasped by the hands of a user. One end of a flexible cable is attached to a fixed position device; and the other end is attached to a rotatable reel in the handle member, which also carries apparatus coupled with the reel for rotating the reel to wind the cable while the handle member is grasped by the hands of a user. In some specific implementations of the device disclosed in the Reed Pat. No. 6,210,348, the rotatable reel is driven by an electric motor mounted within the handle member; and a switch is provided for turning on the motor to rotate the reel at a uniform speed to wind the cable.
It is desirable to provide an improved, hand-held mechanically operated stretching device.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved exercise device.
It is another object of this invention to provide an improved hand-held exercise device.
It is an additional object of this invention to provide an improved compact, easy to use, manually operated stretching apparatus.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved manually operated mechanical device for stretching the lower back and hamstring muscle groups.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, an exercise device designed to stretch the back and leg muscles of a user includes a handle body having a handle member grasped by the hands of a user. A fixed position member is provided adjacent the location where the device is to be used. A flexible cable is secured at a first end to the fixed position member; and it is engaged by a rotatable member in the handle body. A manually operated pawl and ratchet mechanism in the handle body is used to rotate the rotatable member to draw the cable into the handle device through the operation of a reciprocating lever member coupled with the pawl and ratchet mechanism. Operation by a user reciprocating the handle member effects incremental stepwise rotation of the rotatable member through the pawl and ratchet mechanism to pull the flexible cable into the handle body.